Impossible
by bruised-tears
Summary: A spell gone wrong sends Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts and into their 16-year-old bodies. Struggling to trust each other and find a way back,they must deal with their own moral issues. Can they stop the war before the people they love die?
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary:** A spell gone wrong sends Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts and into their sixteen year old bodies. While struggling to trust each other enough to find a way back, they must deal with their own moral issues. Can they stop the war before the people they love die or are they fated to watch their history repeat itself.

**Pairing/s:** Draco/Ginny, slight Ron/Hermione

**A/N:** don't own don't sue

The lyrics at the beginning are from Stand by 'Rascal Flatts'

**Chapter One**

You feel like a candle in a hurricane  
Just like a picture with a broken frame  
Alone and helpless  
Like you've lost your fight  
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright  
'Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend, till you break  
'Cause its all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad you get strong  
Wipe your hands shake it off  
Then you stand, then you stand  
Life's like a novel  
With the end ripped out  
The edge of a canyon  
With only one way down  
Take what you're given before its gone  
Start holding on, keep holding on  
'Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend till you break  
'Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad, you get strong  
Wipe your hands, shake it off  
Then you stand, then you stand  
Every time you get up  
And get back in the race  
One more small piece of you  
Starts to fall into place  
'Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend, till you break  
'Cause its all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad you get strong  
Wipe your hands shake it off  
Then you stand, then you stand

"Do you remember what we used to be like?" Hermione sighed, scrunching up her face unhappily and throwing her to-small dress across the room.

She frowned down at her engorged stomach, running a hand over her bump thoughtfully. Ginny, who was sprawled across Hermione and Ron's double bed flicking through a magazine, glanced up at her friend with an amused look in her eye.

"You've only been pregnant for seven months, Hermione. It's not that long."

Hermione waved a hand and shook her curly head, turning back to her wardrobe and rifling through looking for a different dress. It was Hermione and Ron's anniversary dinner in less than two hours and she still couldn't find what to wear, the new dress she'd bought last week was already too tight. She had a sneaking suspicion that she was carrying twins.

"I meant our school years. Back when I could fit into something slightly smaller than a circus tent."

Ginny laughed and rolled off the bed, standing besides Hermione and peering into the wardrobe mirror. Despite the pregnant bulge of her stomach Hermione was still slender but besides Ginny she felt excessively frumpy. Ginny was one of those beautiful women that all other women wanted to hate, the kind of beauty that didn't need any make up or styling. Her silky crimson locks were pulled back in a long ponytail leaving a partial fringe and curled tendrils drifting into her eyes. She was luckier than Ron, Hermione mused, who had gotten eyelashes that matched his hair. Ginny's were long, thick and inky black around her blue-green eyes.

"You're staring at me." Ginny muttered uncomfortably, turning away from the mirror and digging into the closet.

Hermione shook herself and took the dress Ginny offered her. It was floor-length so it would hide her fat ankles she noted ruefully. It was a dark bronze silky material that would bring out the highlights in her hair and make her brown eyes shine. This was exactly why she had asked Ginny to come over.

"What are you wearing?" Hermione called over her shoulder as she headed for the en suite bathroom to get changed.

Ginny shrugged and wandered around the big bedroom absently. It was a bewildering mix of both Ron and Hermione's juxtaposing tastes. The room was every shade of beige but Ron's Quidditch uniform was slung over a chair by the window and there was a bookshelf next to Hermione's side of the bed that was crammed full of books. A big framed picture of the trio was on the wall waving at her happily and next to it was a collection of both families. Above the bed was a large portrait of Ron and Hermione on their wedding day painted by Luna. Both Ron and Hermione had their own study rooms but Ron's briefcase and papers were all over the vanity table amongst Hermione's neatly arranged perfume bottles and lotions.

"Already sorted."

Hermione emerged from the bathroom and headed over to the vanity table to start on her make up. She glanced at the little silver clock to her left.

"He's going to be late."

Ginny grinned and looked at her watch.

"He'll be here." She reached down and kissed Hermione's cheek. "I better go get ready."

Ginny Disapparated and Hermione turned back to face the mirror. She squinted at the crow's feet beginning to form around her eyes. She had laughter lines around her mouth too, a result of living with Ron. Hermione sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Oh to be young again."

* * *

Ginny made herself a bagel and poured herself a glass of wine before she went to get ready, eating it standing at the kitchen counter and reading the night edition of the Daily Prophet. Draco Malfoy was on the front cover, having been dumped by his wife for the new Minister For Magic leaving a very unhappy cuckolded witch with four kids and a thoroughly embarrassed Malfoy.

Ginny flipped past the story until she reached her horoscope at the back. She always read it even if she didn't quite believe in it. Habit.

She rinsed out her plate and headed into her bedroom to get changed. She tapped her radio as she stripped out of her work clothes. She had bought a silky silvery skirt that twirled around her knees and clung to her hips. She had just slipped on a black fitted top that bared her back when her doorbell rang.

It was Harry ready to escort her to the restaurant where the anniversary dinner was being held. He looked handsome in his navy blue suit and he was very cheerful when she answered the door.

"What are you so happy about?" She laughed as he kissed her cheek and walked straight past her into the kitchen.

"I have a date." He announced cheerfully, scavenging her half-finished bottle of wine out of the fridge and pouring himself a glass.

"Anyone we know?" Ginny called through her open bedroom door as she hurriedly applied some mascara.

"I hope not." Harry called back, the rustling pages telling her that he was reading her paper. "She's French. Never heard of me."

Ginny, who had been attaching her favourite diamond drops to her ears, snorted and leaned her head around the door to look at him.

"Is she old enough to drink?"

Harry frowned at her and sipped his wine, waving one hand around airily.

"Of course she is. For a whole two years."

Ginny shook her head and retreated back into her room to do something with her hair. In the end it was as unruly as ever and she settled for pinning half of it back from her face with two jewelled clips.

"Is my purse out there?"

Several loud noises and some alarming bumps and thuds followed her question and once she'd found her patent black skyscraper heels she headed into the living room to find the source of it. Harry was in a heap with someone on her living room floor and the fire was roaring. When the two figures had separated she managed to discern Seamus Finnigan. He waved at Ginny but was busy coughing from a kick he'd taken to the solar plexus.

"What are you doing on my floor?" She demanded with her hands on her hips, trying very hard not to laugh when the two of them looked contritely down at their feet.

"I was looking for Harry." Seamus finally offered.

Ginny held up her hands and shook her head. She really didn't want to know.

The restaurant was packed with Weasleys by the time the three of them got there and Ginny was almost instantly enveloped in hugs from her brothers and their various wives. Once the rowdy greetings had settled Ginny took her seat at one of the smaller tables surrounding the big one Ron and Hermione were at. Luna was besides her and they spent the first two courses catching up. Ginny was on her way to the bathroom when she spotted Draco Malfoy at a distant table. He was eating alone and there was a strange air around him. He didn't look sorry for himself, or indeed as if he even wanted company, but Ginny felt something in her stomach twist. She knew what it was like to be on the outside.

Before she'd even realised what she was doing she'd re-directed her steps to pass by the alcove where he was sitting.

"Hello, Malfoy." She offered tentatively, wondering if he'd even recognise her.

He didn't seem to for a long moment, then he put down his fork and looked straight at her. His piercing eyes were the same silver as her skirt. They shot right through her and she swallowed.

"Weasley."

That was quite polite for a Malfoy, she mused. He glanced around her at the cluster of tables where the Weasleys and friends were attracting a lot of attention with their rowdy antics.

"Reunion?"

Ginny shook her head and moved closer. He watched her approaching with a strange look in his eye, then indicated for her to take the empty seat opposite him. She slid into the chair after a moment's hesitation. He looked tired. His blond locks kept slipping over his forehead and into his eyes as he ate.

"Ron and Hermione's anniversary."

He lifted his eyebrows but didn't comment. Ginny was about to enquire about how he was coping when Seamus and Dean Thomas came barrelling around the corner. They stopped dead at the sight of the two of them. The argument that ensued was reminiscent of the war and Ginny hung her head in shame. It got to the point where the restaurant's security staff had to intervene. Wands were being drawn and there were flashes of light but Ginny realized that it was fading. Something was happening. When she looked down she was startled to see that her body was glowing. Something had happened to the table they were sitting at because Draco was glowing too. They exchanged a startled look as the glow increased. It grew to such a brightness that Ginny had to shield her eyes. Her body was vibrating and a terrible noise was wailing in her ears.

Then it all stopped.

* * *

"Ginny?"

Ginny blinked. Her eyes were hurting from the brightness and she squinted. Hermione was peering at her with concern in her brown eyes. She reached out and touched Ginny's cheek.

"You're hot. Are you feeling okay?"

Ginny shook her head and tried to get up but Hermione pushed her back down. Ginny glanced around but there was no one but Hermione near her.

"Where is everyone?"

Hermione gave her a strange look and the concern returned to her face.

"They're at the match, Ginny. Where else would they be?"

Ginny jerked but there was no trace of humour in Hermione's face. She wasn't that good an actress and this wasn't the kind of thing she'd find funny. Ginny's gaze drifted over Hermione's shoulder and she scanned the space they were in. They were on a bench hidden in a deep alcove on one of the corridors. If memory served her correctly this was one of the corridors in the East Wing. Horror washed over her and she leaped to her feet, almost knocked Hermione who had been kneeling in front of her over.

"Oh my God." Ginny wailed.

She raced over and pressed her hands against the stone wall of the corridor. It certainly felt cold and damp, it hummed slightly with the magic of Hogwarts. This could not be happening. Ginny turned to Hermione, who was staring at her as if she'd lost her mind, and caught sight of her reflection in the window behind the bench. A sixteen year old girl stared back at her in amazement. Her hair was in two long messy plaits over her shoulders, her shirt was rolled up at the sleeves because it was one of Percy's old ones and she had an ink smudge on her freckled cheekbone.

"Hermione." Ginny said shakily, putting one hand against the wall to steady herself. The brunette came closer towards her, looking slightly nervous. "This is going to sound insane but please, just go with me." Hermione was completely baffled but she nodded nonetheless. "What year am I in? How old am I?"

Hermione wrinkled her brow in confusion.

"You're nearly sixteen. You're in your fifth year at Hogwarts, Ginny."

Ginny uttered something between a shriek and a groan and whirled around, taking off down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower. She passed very few people on her way but some of them greeted her, not looking the least bit surprised to see her racing through the corridors.

"Not happening." Ginny kept muttering over and over again. "Not happening. Can't be happening. Even magic can't do this. Not this."

She wasn't nearly as out of breath as she should have been by the time she reached the portrait. The Fat Lady gave her a long considering look, suspicion darkening her painted gaze.

"Password, young lady?"

Ginny shook her head and the Fat Lady sniffed, looking down her nose at the redhead. Before Ginny could argue the portrait swung open and a couple of first years tumbled out giddily, clearly heading for the Quidditch pitch with their Gryffindor scarves around their noses against the cold. Ginny darted past them and into the Common Room. Her heart leaped at the familiar surroundings. A fire was happily crackling in the fireplace, someone's homework had been discarded on a desk in the corner, someone else's cat was worrying a Gryffindor tie that had been draped over the arm of a chair. Crookshanks bounded down from the girl's dormitory and settled into a spot before the fire.

Ginny weaved her way through the mass of chairs and objects and flung herself up the stairs. She reached the fifth year dormitory and threw open the door. Aurora Kent was apparently on her way out of the door and she screeched and fell backwards at Ginny's abrupt arrival.

"Ginny!"

Ginny just stared at her. Aurora had been killed in the battle for Hogwarts. She'd only been sixteen. Ginny briefly forgot her predicament and simply stared at her friend. Her long blonde hair was bound up in a big neat bun at the back of her head and her blue eyes were concerned behind her snazzy orange glasses. She had a woolly hat in her hand and a pair of mittens on. She must have forgotten them. Ginny felt tears in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing her tightly.

"I love you too, Gin. But I also saw you half an hour ago at dinner. And I'm late for the match." Aurora extricated herself from Ginny's grip and tugged her hat on over her hair. It was gaudily striped in all different colours of the rainbow. "It's going to be good, there's a bet going round about whether Michael Corner can knock Zacharias Smith off his broom or not. I hope he does. The little troll tried to put his hand up my skirt yesterday. Tried to pretend he'd tripped."

Ginny laughed but Aurora had already passed her and was on her way to the pitch. Ginny dickered about going after her but instead she headed into the now empty room. It was all here. Her whole life. The complete chapter that she'd closed years ago. Her cloak was draped over her trunk. A vase of tulips was on her bedside table, shedding petals onto an open book. She brushed them away so she could see the title. _Grimm's Fairytales_. Her school robes had been dumped on her bed. It must be Friday. Her table was littered with hair ties, pencils, beads from a broken bracelet. It was all here. Pictures of her family were tacked above her bed. As she watched the twins chased Percy across one of the pictures with a gnome under their entwined arms. Her stomach clenched at the sight of the twins.

She closed her eyes and leant against the post of her bed. She couldn't watch all this again. Her family torn to shreds, her friends giving their lives. She couldn't. What could she do? She only knew when things would happen, certain days that had been seared into her memory. She felt so helpless. So completely unable to deal with the enormity of what this could mean. Could she even change anything? Was she doomed to just repeat what had already happened?

Hermione's hand touched her shoulder and Ginny flinched. The brunette's eyes were dark with worry and her face was very pale. Ginny took a deep breath and pulled herself together, hitching a wavery smile onto her face.

"I think I just have a headache. Maybe I'll lie down for a while."

Hermione seemed relieved and she nodded vigorously, removing Ginny's clothes from her bed and smoothing down the covers. Ginny obediently lay down.

"If you don't feel better maybe you should go to Madam Pomfrey." Hermione fretted, busy pouring out a glass of water for her.

Ginny reassured Hermione and insisted that resting was the cure. Hermione kept casting doubtful looks at the redhead and tugging on a stray curl nervously. Eventually, however, she left. Ginny waited a good ten minutes, long enough for Hermione to get to the Entrance Hall at least, before she jumped up and headed out. The Fat Lady called something after her but Ginny was in too much of a rush to hear. She walked as quickly as she could without drawing any unwanted attention, weaving her way down towards the dungeons. Once she got into the dark creepy corridors, though, she was at a loss. She'd never been to the Slytherin Common Room before and even the Slytherins would be at the Quidditch match.

She hovered around for a while, wandering up and down the corridors and racking her brain trying to remember if she'd even seen the Slytherins emerge from a dead end somewhere.

"Weasley."

To her credit she didn't jump when he emerged in front of her out of nowhere, but that might have been because she was too exhausted for surprise. Draco Malfoy stood before her. Compared to the tired, weary man she'd lat seen, he looked pretty good. She had never noticed how broad his shoulders were under his jumper. His hair was slicked back exposing the perfect cheekbones, the long Greek nose and his startling silver eyes. A smug look came into his eyes when saw her studying him and she flushed irritably.

"What are you smiling about?" She demanded nastily, choosing to take her fear out on him. Being a moody teenager was like riding a bike really.

A pleasant grin had fixed itself to his face and he simply lifted his eyebrows at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Ginny did not miss the ripple of muscles that flashed before her.

"You were staring at me." He told her coolly, appraising her lightly until she scowled at him. "Not that I blame you."

"Don't flatter yourself." She sneered, digging out the quelling look she used for unwanted drunken wizards in bars.

They glowered at each other for a while before footsteps forced them into action. Draco grabbed hold of Ginny, waved his wand at a nearby door and whisked her through it in one complete series of graceful movements. Ginny found herself in a broom closet, her foot stuck in a wooden bucket, her elbow jammed into a box of spare quills and her nose against Draco's chest.

"What are you doing?" She demanded as haughtily as she could manage in her current state.

He gave her a withering look and took a miniscule step back until he was against the door. She tried to glare at him but he couldn't resist grinning at the strange picture she made, her hair sticking up in all directions and her tie all askew.

"Taking the initiative." He told her flatly as she extricated herself from the various boxes and tried to straighten herself out a little. "Detention is not something I particularly want to relive."

She muttered something under her breath but he ignored it, leaning against the door and listening. Whoever was outside had apparently stopped for a good old natter with somebody else. Giggling touched his ears and he grimaced. Bloody women. Merlin knows how long they'd be stuck in here. Ginny had her arms folded when he turned around, her long fingers were tapping against her bare freckled arms. There was a strange look in her eye.

"Alright there, Weasley?"

She shot him a venomous look but didn't reply, her eyes were bright and feverish and they darted ceaselessly around the tiny room.

"Surely it can't be that bad being trapped in close proximity with me?" He was only half joking and she smiled despite herself.

"I'm claustrophobic." She admitted finally, grabbing the bucket and turning it upside down so she could sit down.

He didn't comment, which surprised her. Instead he sighed and let his head fall back against the door.

"How did this happen?"

He wasn't really asking her, just voicing the elephant in the room. Ginny shrugged even though he wasn't looking at her, pulling one of her long braids over her shoulder and fiddling with the end of it.

"Do you think we'll be stuck like this?"

He did look at her then, a long considering look with those deep unfathomable eyes. Ginny squirmed on her bucket, realising that this was probably one of the worst times he could have been landed in. This was right before everything started to go very wrong, the flame to the bonfire so to speak. She let out an involuntary giggle and he frowned at her, a little line creasing the space between his brows.

"I hope our sixteen year old selves aren't in our thirty-year old bodies." She explained, pulling her face at the idea of it.

Draco winced. He had not been particularly pleasant at sixteen. The ghost of a smile crossed his lips and Ginny blinked. She had never imagined with Draco Malfoy would look like with a smile. It had always been a sneer or a snarl or a smirk of something equally unpleasant and filled with malice. It came as quite a shock to see how attractive he looked with the merest hint of a smile. Ginny realised that he was speaking to her again.

"We should be alright now."

He was pulling open the door and Ginny had to get quickly to her feet as he backed up, the space between them becoming smaller and smaller. To make room for the door he had practically stand on top of her and she caught the barest hint of something woodsy like pine but sharper and with a hint of spicy bite. His aftershave must be expensive to smell that delicious, she mused as they crept out of the room. A Hufflepuff was passing by, a second year maybe from the size of her, and she gaped at the sight of Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy emerging from the same broom cupboard looking dishevelled. Draco gave her one of his "looks" and she took off down the corridor back the way she had come.

"Nice scouting there, Sherlock." Ginny mocked, watching the girl beating a hasty retreat down the corridor. "We're lucky no one saw us."

He stuck his tongue out at her and Ginny was so surprised that she burst out laughing. Draco looked bewildered by her amusement and simply stood there looking chagrined and slightly annoyed. When she'd finally stopped laughing they stared at each other again.

"We're going to have to find a way out of this." He said thoughtfully.

Ginny sobered as the enormity of it hit her. This was some very powerful magic, and she had no idea how to find out how this had happened. It would be dangerous to try a counter spell without knowing what they were countering first. The person she would usually have gone straight to for help thought she was currently insane. The only person she could talk to was right here in front of her. They needed help but who would believe them?

"What are we going to do?" She asked him helplessly, feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable.

Noise came suddenly from all around them and Ginny, startled, reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his jumper. It took her a moment to realise that the match must be over already and the students were piling back into Hogwarts out of the bitter cold. She let go of him with a sheepish look.

"Awful jumpy there, aren't you Weasley?"

She gave him and indignant look but that thoroughly amused expression was plastered all over his face again. She was beginning to find it very annoying how amusing he found her.

"Well forgive me, Malfoy, but I don't go hurtling through time and space into my past body every day now do I? Excuse me for being a little rattled."

He seemed to find this funny too because his smile only got bigger. She muttered some of her choicer insults and curses under her breath but the noise was getting closer now and they shouldn't be caught standing together unless one of them was on the end of a nasty curse, anything else would just be suspicious. He took her by the elbow and led her hastily down a couple of winding corridors. He stopped by a rather ugly mural of battlefield littered with dead bodies and murmured something under his breath. The mural shuffled aside irritably and revealed a staircase that wound upwards.

"This will bring you out near the first floor Girl's Bathroom." He told her as he hurried her over the threshold.

"Why do you have a hidden passage to the…"

He waved a hand and gave her a little shove, dismissing her query as the first few students began to emerge into the corridor.

"We'll talk tonight." He whispered before the mural moved back into place and Ginny was staring at the dusty, stitched back of it.

She hastened up the stairs as quickly as she could, slipping out of a hidden niche at the top and emerging into a crowd of Hufflepuffs dissecting the match. The Hospital Wing was in sight and she breathed a sigh of relief, her alibi was sorted at least. She used all the shortcuts she could remember to get back to Gryffindor Tower, hoping to make it back before Hermione could check on her and realise she was gone. She'd rather not have to lie about going to the Hospital Wing, Ron was very prone to overreacting. Still, she thought idly, she could always tell him she'd gone to get something for her cramps. The last time she'd used that as an excuse he'd excused himself from her presence and had been unable to make eye-contact with her for days afterwards. She was grinning at the memory of it when she reached the Fat Lady and the grin slid off her face. Password. Damn.

"Hullo Ginny." Neville said, appearing besides her like a gangly little angel. "Whiffling." He told the Fat Lady absently and she swung open with a derisive sniff.

Ginny could have kissed Neville right there. She managed to ensconce herself on one of the sofas by the fire with him long before the trio made it back to the Tower. He was regaling her with highlights of the match, including Michael Corner knocking Zacharias Smith off his broom by lunging for the Quaffle, when Hermione bustled over and demanded to know how she was.

"I'm fine, Hermione." Ginny assured her, keeping a careful smile on her face as her stomach roiled inside. "Just fine."


	2. Chapter 2

**Full Summary:** A spell gone wrong sends Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts and into their sixteen year old bodies. While struggling to trust each other enough to find a way back, they must deal with their own moral issues. Can they stop the war before the people they love die or are they fated to watch their history repeat itself.

**Pairings:** Draco/Ginny, slight Ron/Hermione

**A/N:** don't own don't sue

The lyrics at the beginning are from 'Called Out in the Dark' by Snow Patrol

Just so you know, Ginny and Harry will not be getting together, even if it is canon. It's a terrible pairing, completely cliché beyond words and I like to pretend that bloody awful epilogue doesn't even exist.

**Chapter Two**

It's like we just can't help ourselves  
'Cause we don't know how to back down  
We were called out to the streets  
We were called out into the towns  
How the heaven's they opened up  
Black arms of dazzling gold  
With our rain washed histories  
When we do not need to be told  
Show me now  
Show me the arms aloft  
Every eye trained on a different star  
This my chick, this drunken centrefold  
We are listening and we're not blind  
This is your life, this is your time  
We are listening and we're not blind  
This is your life, this is your time  
I was called out in the dark  
By a choir of beautiful sheets  
Now it's the kids took back the parks  
You and I were left with the streets  
Show me now  
Show me the arms aloft  
Every eye trained on a different star  
This my chick, this drunken centrefold  
We are listening and we're not blind  
This is your life, this is your time  
We are listening and we're not blind  
This is your life, this is your time

When the fog cleared Ginny found herself surrounded by strangers. Adult strangers. Ginny was not the screaming type but had she been, she would have been lifting the roof right now. After a few endless moments of sheer paralysing terror, Ginny finally recognised the faces grouped around her. Once the initial shock had worn off, pain raced back into her body. She must have sitting at the table besides her. A chair was thrown backwards and she was sprawled rather indelicately on the floor. Her skirt had hiked up and her hair had fallen out of its pins. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were leaning over her with concerned expressions. Ginny blinked.

"Dean?" She whispered shakily, reaching out automatically for her boyfriend.

"She's alright." Dean sighed in relief, taking her hand and helping her into a sitting position.

She clung to him briefly, alarmed at the breadth of his shoulders and the confused features so much more mature than she remembered. After a moment she let go of him. She was strong, she wasn't the type to cling to boys for protection. There was a loud ruckus and then Ron burst through the crowd of curious onlookers. He went white when he saw Ginny on the floor. Ginny was moved that little bit closer to tears. Her favourite brother, who she remembered as tall and gangly with a face full of freckles, a mop of unruly hair and a permanently amused expression, had grown into a tall broad man with laughter lines around his mouth and strong shoulders.

As Ron knelt down to check on her, he exposed Hermione behind him. Ginny goggled at her.

"Hermione. You're pregnant!" Ginny blurted out.

They stared at her. Harry had appeared besides Hermione and she could see her other brothers crowding in behind them. There was a commotion and she stared at Draco Malfoy as he emerged, looking immensely dishevelled. He glowered at her and she glared right back. People were fussing around her and he slipped into the crowd with a last glare of loathing over his shoulder. Feeling faint and slightly dizzy, she gained her feet and fled the room.

She dashed past surprised revellers, who grunted at her as she elbowed them out of her way. She practically threw open the bathroom door. She stared at herself in the mirror. She was sickly white under all her freckles but her reflection was not the girl she was used to. She looked… older. Beautiful. Sophisticated. Far from making her feel better this only made her feel much worse. She splashed some cold water on her face with shaking hands.

Hermione waddled into the bathroom, peering at her cautiously.

"Are you alright?" She asked, leaning against the counter.

Ginny nodded. Hermione didn't look convinced.

"I think I must have bumped my head. I'm fine. I think maybe I should go home." Ginny said shakily, unable to look at Hermione in her current state.

It took several long minutes for Ginny to convince Hermione that all she needed was some fresh air and a lie down. She begged Hermione to say her goodbyes. When she got outside she relished the cool air on her burning cheeks. After a second she realised that the bright flame besides her was reflecting off a head of silver hair. They glared at each other in silence. Ginny cast an anxious look over his shoulder and he snorted.

"Don't worry, Weasley. I couldn't exactly take out the entire room without being stopped now, could I? I evaded their notice."

"'Evaded their notice'." She scoffed, tossing back her head. "I bet you did. Creeping around like the slimy snake you are-"

"Snakes aren't actually slimy, Weasley." Draco interrupted icily. "That's a common misconception usually held by particularly stupid people."

"Well you look bloody slimy." She snapped angrily. "Your hair slicked back like you've just been on a date with the Giant Squid."

If she'd noticed that his hair wasn't currently slicked back but brushed into two gleaming wings over his ears, she didn't comment on it. She was feeling a little better actually, this was familiar territory. Fighting and squabbling with Malfoy was as natural to a Weasley as breathing.

"Now listen here, Weasley. I will not be spoken to like that… especially not by some silly red-headed bint with all the charisma of a Chocolate Frog. A squashed Chocolate Frog."

She felt her cheeks flush hotly and gave a little squeak of outrage.

"Don't you talk to me about charisma you nasty little toad. You've got all the charm and grace of a syphilitic goat." She hissed.

"That's rich coming from someone who can't cross the Great Hall without tripping over something." He snarled back at her.

"Well what I may lack on my feet I more than make up for in the air. Which is more than could be said for you. The best place for you to put that expensive broomstick of yours would be right up your-"

"Do we have a problem here?" A voice thundered over them.

They both turned on the intruder with matching furious expressions but they deflated the instant they saw the rather mountainous bouncer squinting down at them. He would have made Crabbe and Goyle look weedy. A group of wizards queuing to get into the bar were gaping at them over his shoulder. Ginny realised how ridiculous they must have looked. Two fully grown adults bickering like children in the middle of the street.

"We're fine." Draco snapped imperiously, gesturing for him to leave with his fingers.

The bouncer stared at him in disbelief, then he drew himself up to his full impressive height.

"Whatever this is. Take it elsewhere. Now." He ordered when Draco opened his mouth furiously.

Draco looked thoroughly prepared to answer back but Ginny grabbed his arm, much more impressive than she remembered it being, and dragged him away. It was difficult going on the cobbles in her heels. If she was used to wearing them now her body hadn't retained the skill and in the end she came to a halt.

"Stupid things." She murmured irritably, tugging off the heels and gripping them in one hand.

To her surprise Malfoy had come to a halt a few steps away and was apparently waiting for her. She ignored him and squinted at the buildings around them. They looked vaguely familiar.

"What are you doing, Weasley?" Malfoy called out to her, his impatient voice echoing around them.

"I don't know where I live, jackass." Ginny screeched, panic surging up through her chest.

She felt faint again. They'd been preparing for a war. She'd grappled with the thought of losing her friends and family, come to terms with the kind of things she might have to do but this was totally beyond her scope. She felt dizzy and she sat down very suddenly on the curb. It was damp beneath her skirt. After a moment a shadow fell over her and she flared up at Malfoy. He was so much taller than she remembered, his shoulders broad and well-structured. She supposed he'd been well built at sixteen, she hadn't really thought about it.

She cast her mind back. The last time she'd seen him was lunch time. She'd been arguing with Dean about something. He'd borrowed her gloves and not returned them. It seemed ridiculously trivial now but she'd been furious then. There had been a lot of noise suddenly and when she'd turned with everybody else Malfoy had been bent double with laughter at something Zabini had said. She hadn't really paid too much attention, it was only Malfoy after all.

The scowl on his face as he glowered down at her was very familiar despite the smooth older features.

"Leave me alone." She snapped venomously, staring down at her bare toes already going numb on the wet cobbles.

"Don't be such a brat." He snarled, reaching down and yanking her up to her feet.

She was so surprised that she didn't even fight back.

"What are you-"

"We're in this together." He gave her a look that told her he didn't hold much hope for their chances. "So let's get on with it."

"Where are we going?"

"Home." He grunted.

She dug her heels into the pavement so suddenly that he almost stumbled. He glared at her. She was shaking her head, the drizzling rain caught in her hair and shone like a net of jewels.

"Malfoy Manor?" She could barely get the words out in her horror. "Death Eater Central? I don't think so."

He could see her bright eyes darting around, calculating how to get away from him. He lifted his eyes and prayed for patience.

"Don't be so fucking stupid!" He snarled. "My parents have a summer home near here."

"Why can't we go to my parents' house?" She threw back at him sharply, her chin tilted stubbornly.

"Like I'm going to walk voluntarily into a Weasley shack."

He saw the familiar anger flare deep in her eyes and her cheeks turned pink. Her painted nails curled into her palms as she balled her little hands into fists. He eyed her warily, wondering how quickly she could get to her wand in a new body.

"Nobody will be there. In case you haven't noticed, Weasley, it's not summer." He pointed up at the sky for emphasis.

She did not like the idea of being alone in a strange place with Draco Malfoy, but she was at a loss. She was tired, the numb shock and adrenaline wearing off and leaving a bone-weary exhaustion in its wake. Maybe she'd wake up and this would all be a dream, she'd be warm and safe in her four-poster anticipating a delicious breakfast and a lazy weekend.

"Well?"

She looked up at him. It was hard to marry the spoiled nasty bully she knew with the Draco Malfoy standing right in front of her. He seemed so cool and self-assured, impatient of course frowning down at her. To her utter amazement, she felt a flicker of trust flare to life in her stomach. He was right. They were in this on their own. She stepped awkwardly into the circle of his arm and they Disapparated.

* * *

Ginny kept her eyes squeezed closed tightly, wondering for a moment if the world might be back to normal when she opened them. It didn't work. When she opened her eyes they were standing under a huge oak tree, the branches steadily dripping rainwater down onto them. She squinted. She could just about make out the outline of a rather huge house in the darkness in the distance. It looked cold and forbidding and not particularly pleasant. She followed Malfoy silently through the trees, her bare feet picking delicately.

"Nice place, Malfoy. What's your winter home a castle in Transylvania?"

His grey eyes slid sideways, his surprisingly long lashes star-fished in the rain.

"A ranch in the mountains, actually."

She glared at him. They reached the front doors with no interruptions and she peered around disappointedly.

"I kind of thought it'd be a lot more difficult to get into a Malfoy-occupied stronghold."

"If I hadn't been here you wouldn't have made it within fifty years, Weasley." He sneered, putting one broad white hand flat against the mahogany door.

Whatever complex magic was happening, there was no indication of it but the doors swung open silently and he stepped over the threshold. Ginny took a deep breath and followed him.

* * *

**mrs. c** – here's more :)

**Queen of Night** – thanks a lot, here's an update for you


	3. Chapter 3

**Full Summary:** A spell gone wrong sends Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts and into their sixteen year old bodies. While struggling to trust each other enough to find a way back, they must deal with their own moral issues. Can they stop the war before the people they love die or are they fated to watch their history repeat itself.

**Pairing/s:** Draco/Ginny, slight Ron/Hermione

**A/N:** don't own don't sue

The lyrics at the beginning are from 'Crashed' by Daughtry

Just so you know, Ginny and Harry will not be getting together, even if it is canon. It's a terrible pairing, completely cliché beyond words and I like to pretend that bloody awful epilogue doesn't even exist.

**Chapter Three**

Well I was moving at the speed of sound  
Head-spinning, couldn't find my way around, and  
Didn't know that I was going down  
Yeah, yeah  
Where I've been, well it's all a blur  
What I was looking for, I'm not sure  
Too late and didn't see it coming  
Yeah, yeah  
And then I crashed into you  
And I went up in flames  
Could've been the death of me  
But then you breathed your breath in me  
And I crashed into you  
Like a runaway train  
You will consume me  
But I can't walk away  
Somehow, I couldn't stop myself  
I just wanted to know how it felt  
Too strong, I couldn't hold on  
Yeah, yeah  
Now I'm just tryin' to make some sense  
Out of how and why this happened  
Where we're heading, there's just no knowing  
Yeah, yeah  
And then I crashed into you  
And I went up in flames  
Could've been the death of me  
But then you breathed your breath in me  
And I crashed into you  
Like a runaway train  
You will consume me  
But I can't walk away  
From your face, your eyes  
Are burning to me  
You saved me, you gave me  
Just what I need  
Oh, just what I need  
And then I crashed into you  
And I went up in flames  
Could've been the death of me  
But then you breathed your breath in me  
And I crashed into you  
Like a runaway train  
You will consume me  
But I can't walk away

Voices. Noisy voices. Noisy voices pretending to be quiet.

Ginny groaned and rolled over, pulling aside a curtain so she could glare. She hadn't had a lie in on a Saturday for years. Aurora and Quinn were sitting at the window seat trying to perfect the spell that shaped your eyebrows without any plucking. Ginny heaved herself out of bed and stared around the rest of the room. Selina was scurrying back into the room in a towel, her long dark hair wrapped up in a matching pink towel.

Ginny dug her own rough towels out from her trunk and headed towards the door. There was an outburst of giggling from behind her when Quinn accidentally turned her eyebrows pink. Ginny had not missed communal showers. She hadn't had her own shower until a few years after she had graduated from Healer Academy and moved into her own flat. Twenty-two years was a long time to wait.

She also realised how much longer her hair was when it took twenty minutes to wash it. She would have to find out when the next Hogsmeade trip was and get it all cut off. She was contemplating what to do with it when she walked slap into someone in the middle of the corridor. Luckily she didn't let go of her towel. Typical.

"Watch where you're walking, Weasley."

She glowered at Draco, who had a damp patch on his blue shirt from her hair. He was flanked by Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, both of whom eyed her as if she was something on the bottom of their expensive new shoes. Ginny fixed her gaze on Blaise, who was running his dark eyes over her bare legs. He could look at her however he liked, but he was still going to end up married to an appalling witch who kept his testicles in her purse. Pansy was leaning against Draco's shoulder with a superior look on her face. And she would end up married to a gold-digging wizard who was having an affair with her hair dresser. Her male hair dresser. Ginny drew herself up to her full height, gave the three Slytherins a sneer that could rival their own and sashayed past them.

The dorm room was empty when she got back but there was a note taped to her bedpost. She cast a drying charm on her hair and wrapped it up in a messy bun at the crown of her head out of her way. The array of second-hand clothes that met her when she saw her trunk made her want to both laugh and cry. She slipped into a pair of Charlie's old jeans, a Led Zeppelin t-shirt she'd saved up for for months and a chunky navy blue cardigan with a big collar and huge pockets. She had hated this cardigan when her Mum had knitted it for her. Now it smelt familiar and comforting.

When she reached the Common Room her roommates were standing by one of the windows flirting with Seamus and Dean, the trio were in a corner discussing something secret or other. Ginny hovered at the bottom of the stairs, trying to remember what she used to do on her Saturdays at Hogwarts.

"Ginny!"

Ginny headed gratefully over to Neville, who was sweating over his Potions homework. Neville handed her a hand-written note and went back to his work. Ginny unravelled the parchment, casting a furtive glance around to make sure no one was watching. No one paid the slightest bit of attention to her. She sighed, feeling unutterably sorry for herself. The parchment was heavy and felt satiny smooth against her fingers, obviously very expensive. Malfoy had lovely writing, she noted absently, all sloping elegant characters and loopy swirls. He must have been taught by a professional calligrapher, one of those who wrote official letters and whatnot. It was a brief note and it simply told her that he was researching whenever he could but the only texts that mentioned time travel had nothing to do with their current condition and they mostly advised against experimenting because it was so very complicated to undo the results. _Tell us something we don't know_, he'd written underneath. She giggled.

Neville looked up from his work, distracted by her humour. He looked so vulnerable and so helpless that Ginny took pity on him and pulled his essay towards her. By the time they'd finished the Common Room had emptied and Ginny's stomach was rumbling. The Great Hall was practically deserted when she reached it, only a couple of first year boys were sitting at the Gryffindor table as she slid into a seat. She helped herself to some fruit and a couple of cereal bars. Draco was apparently deep in conversation with Pansy Parkinson by the door but when she glanced up mid-bite he caught her gaze. He flicked his silvery gaze towards the window then returned his attention back to Pansy before she could notice.

Ginny finished her breakfast and flipped through a discarded Daily Prophet before heading out to meet him, not wanting to draw too much attention to their meeting. The grounds were filled with activity, students rushing around throwing snowballs, a bunch of snowmen were being constructed and a couple of fifth year Slytherins were playing chicken with the sharp icicles dangling from the parapet, shooting snowballs at them and then dodging the falling ice.

Ginny circled around the main grounds and drifted towards the Forbidden Forest. As she waited for him to find her she pulled her sleeves over her cold hands and stamped her numb feet. The Forbidden Forest looked disturbingly pretty under its blanket of snow, branches coated in white and glittering in the cold sunlight. Something dark moved between two trees and she froze, one hand going to her wand as she squinted intently into the trees.

"What are you staring at?"

She gripped the hand on her shoulder, twisted the wrist round to a painful angle and brought him to his knees. Draco gaped at her when she realised who he was and let go of him. He glowered at her but she didn't apologize, returning her wand to her pocket and helping him up. There was a grudging sort of respect at the back of his eyes as he rubbed his sore wrist.

"Who did you think I was?" He finally asked her, brushing snow from his black trousers.

"I remember being trapped in a building with hundreds of hormonal teenage boys." She told him pointedly, waving a hand over her shoulder when a pair of flushed seventh year Hufflepuffs emerged from a shaded corner of the castle behind him.

A slow grin spread over his face and she swallowed, wondering why the lazy smile that lit up his strange eyes made her want to squirm. He reached out his uninjured arm and brushed a stray snowflake out of her hair. She recoiled backwards slightly and stumbled over a hidden root. Faster than lightening his hand whipped out and grabbed her wrist, steadying her. This meeting was not going the way she'd thought it would. The Draco Malfoy she'd known and despised for seven long years had been petty, spiteful, malicious and desperate for his father's approval. He had been selfish and cruel. But he'd been a boy then. Being sent backwards seemed to have lifted all his troubles and fears both then and now. He was happier and lighter, as if he'd gotten his innocence back.

"If you continue to stare at me for much longer, I may begin to develop an ego."

Ginny snorted and rolled her eyes, taking a few steps into the trees so they wouldn't be seen from a distance.

"What do you mean, 'begin to develop'?"

He gave her a wounded look which she ignored. She stamped her feet to keep the blood flowing, wishing she'd thought to bring her gloves out with her. She balled her hands up into the pockets of her cardigan. He didn't look the slightest bit cold.

"Have you found anything out?" She asked impatiently as the snow began to seep into her winter boots.

"Well I've discovered that a witch called Morella tried to go back in time to seduce Merlin, but she miscalculated some ingredients and ended up in St Mungos. A pair of wizards tried to go into the future in the 80's and splinched themselves, possibly creating the huge shoulder look in the process. A witch claims she sent her cat back to stop the Salem witch burnings but there's no way to prove that…"

"I get the point." Ginny interrupted since he looked perfectly capable of reeling off similar stories for quite a while yet.

"You'd be surprised how many cats were used in these experiments."

She glared at him but he just smiled back at her cheerfully, his cheeks rosy and his eyes bright. His complexion suited the snowy weather. The red sweater he wore was a flash of colour against the black and white background of the trees. He looked like a painting, as if the backdrop had been created entirely for this conversation.

"Staring." He pointed out with one of those smirks that made her want to slap it off his face.

"Why did you drag me out here if you haven't found anything?" She muttered grumpily, bobbing up and down on the spot.

"I didn't say I hadn't found anything." He told her cheerfully, brushing snow from his shoulders thoughtfully. "There's a witch in Fiji who sounds promising."

Ginny chose not to comment, her teeth were starting to chatter anyway. Draco told her that he'd sent a letter to the witch that morning. He gave her a funny look and peered closely at her.

"What's wrong with you?"

Ginny glared and pulled her cardigan even tighter around herself.

"I'm freezing that's what. Bloody cold-blooded reptile."

He took the insult amicably enough and Ginny squirmed uncomfortably, the Malfoy she knew would have whipped out his wand and tried to curse her by now. This new Draco Malfoy was a mystery and she wasn't quite sure how to take him. He looked like he was about to say something else but Aurora appeared near the castle shouting for Ginny. They looked at each other in awkward silence for a moment.

"I should…" Ginny trailed off uncertainly. Things were much easier when they were arguing.

"Off you trot, Weasley." Draco said calmly, looking for all the world as if he couldn't care less whether she went or not.

Ginny bristled, turning her back on him firmly and flouncing back to the castle.

* * *

"Maybe we're not actually here."

Draco's head appeared from behind the huge tome in his hands and he stared at her as if she'd announced her intention to marry Snape. He shot a glance at the study room door as if contemplating escape.

"I mean maybe we're in St Mungos right now."

Ginny's face was flushed with excitement as she leaned across the scratched battered old table.

They'd managed to slip into one of the study rooms at the back of the Library after dinner. It was a risky operation because people usually only used the rooms for illicit kissing sessions. There was a rickety old table with a chair squeezed in on either side and a tiny little window high up in the far wall.

"We could just be stuck in our heads or something."

Draco gave her a pitying look that made her want to reach across the table and slap him. He patted her hand.

"Oh yes I'm sure there's a pretty young Healer peering under my bedclothes and brandishing a thermometer right this second."

Ginny flapped away his sarcasm with her hand and continued to insist that it was entirely possible that they were in a coma or something.

"And we just happen to be having the exact same dream? And we're conscious of each other, are we?"

Ginny shot him the most poisonous look she could muster and held the book in her hands up between them again. It was no good. This book was all about how time was relevant to the strength of charms and potions. Useless. She got up.

"I'm going to look for some more books."

He didn't look up but she saw his eyebrows rising. He'd stopped slicking back his hair quite so severely and it tumbled over his forehead quite fetchingly now.

"By all means." He said serenely, flipping over the page and scanning the next chapter. "We could do with a few more."

Ginny contemplated cursing those bloody eyebrows off, but that wouldn't get them very far. She stomped around him, upsetting a wobbly pile of books perched on the edge of the table. They crashed to the floor, bouncing off her toes one after the other. She was still grumbling and swearing when she backed out of the room, rubbing her toe angrily.

"Ginny?" She froze, looking quite ridiculous with one leg in the air and a horrified slash surprised expression on her face.

Dean Thomas was peering at her curiously, a pile of books under his arm. Ginny was very glad she'd at least had the presence of mind to close the door behind her despite her swearing rant. Dean ran a hand through his dark hair as she slowly lowered her foot to the floor. Her mind was working furiously. Was Dean her boyfriend? She'd been so busy it had never even occurred to her that she'd done her fair share of dating in school.

A grin spread slowly over his face. He glanced over his shoulder but they were quite alone at this end of the library. He took a step towards her and she shrank back against the wall. Wasn't kissing a sixteen year old boy at her age slightly perverse? It certainly felt like it. Before she could protest he'd pressed his lips against hers, his free hand sliding around her waist.

For a brief moment she remembered what it was like to be Dean Thomas's girlfriend. He smelled of soap and pumpkin juice and his lips were gentle against hers. It had been a long time since she'd had an innocent, trusting kiss. Wizards her age were hasty and fumbling, impatient to get to the good part. Her mind reluctantly reminded her that she was probably breaking a few laws right now. Whether she was in her teenage body or not, mentally she was much too old for this. _Much too old? I'm only twenty-seven!_ She thought indignantly.

Dean seemed to have realised that she wasn't kissing him back because he drew away, his brow furrowed in puzzlement. She gave him a weak grin. She made something up about having a cold and not wanting to pass it on to him. He squinted at her for a moment but Seamus Finnegan appeared at the end of a nearby aisle, waving a book at him. A shadow crossed Dean's eyes but he kissed Ginny sweetly on the cheek and belted down the aisle towards Seamus without comment.

Ginny lifted a slightly unsteady hand to her mouth, pressing the back of her hand against her pursed lips. This was far more complicated than she'd imagined.

* * *

Ginny couldn't sleep at all that night. She'd forgotten Selina's wheezy snores and how restless Quinn was at night. She could hear her rolling over again. She was starting to get uncomfortable. She could feel the hundreds of people around her weighing down on her chest. A band was tightening around her lungs.

She tossed back her covers and slid out of bed. She was burning hot and her breaths were quick and panicky. She needed air. There was no way she'd be able to get of the front doors in the middle of the night, not with all the new protections. She crept out of the portrait hole and headed for the Owlery.

The school was a whole different castle at night. The usually crowded noisy hallways were deserted and shrouded in darkness. Silence pressed down on her from all sides. Not even the portrait figures moved. She took the corridors least likely to be occupied. Moonlight flooded most of them as she took the outer hallways rather than the central ones. She didn't feel any of the fear she used to feel at being out of bed in the middle of the night. She felt almost exhilarated, as if she owned the whole castle.

She was light on her feet as she bounced up the stairs and raced down a corridor. The moonlight cast silvery shadows on the stone floor before her. She could feel the cold seeping up through her bare feet. Her heart was racing and her lungs were fit to burst. She was a Healer, she knew she was on the edge of a panic attack and the knowledge managed to calm her slightly.

The Owlery was deserted; all of the owls were out hunting or delivering letters. She bounded across the room, ignoring the unpleasant crunchy squelching under her feet, and threw her head out of the window. It was icy outside and she gasped in huge lungfuls of frigid air gratefully. Letting the frozen wind whip across her face and cool her burning cheeks.

It was all too much. She was surrounded by ghosts. Her friends. They sat opposite her in the Great Hall, they passed by her in the hallways, she saw them in class and she sat with them in the Common Room, none of them realising that they'd soon be gone. Their lives were ticking down. They laughed and gossiped about boys, complained about homework and argued over borrowed sweaters. It made her nauseous, guilt and fear clenching in her stomach and knotting up her insides. And Ginny couldn't say a word about it. It was worse than being haunted. She could already feel her mind beginning to fray, her heart and her sanity unravelling.

She didn't realise she'd thrown up until the smell stung her nose. She pointed her wand at the noxious puddle on the floor and it vanished. She tapped her mouth and the lingering taste vanished too. She wiped the tears from her face as footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded when Malfoy's silver head appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Waiting for a letter, of course." He gave her a puzzled look and she realised that she hadn't bothered to pull on a cloak. "What's your excuse?"

She shivered. Now her panic was dissipating, she was starting to feel the cold through the thin over-sized t-shirt she slept in.

"I was getting some air." She finally said, a little lamely as she watched Malfoy's grey eyes flicker over the ice crystals still scattered in her wild hair and her red cheeks.

"I see." He murmured, not sounding the least bit convinced.

She bristled at him. She knew she must look suspicious, creeping around the Owlery in the middle of the night in a flimsy night-shirt with her hair all windswept and tangling over her shoulders. It probably didn't help that her feverish appearance could be misinterpreted. She wondered briefly if he was planning on meeting somebody up here. It wasn't exactly romantic, what with the dropping-strewn floor and the overwhelming smell of owl. But you never knew.

"Why are you creeping around up here in the middle of the night?" She snapped, ignoring the fact that she was doing the exact same thing.

"Well personally I thought a bird native to Fiji swooping in at breakfast would attract a bit of attention." He shrugged his shoulders as if it couldn't matter to him less. "But then I'm just a Slytherin, not nearly as cunning as you, Gryffindors. Not quite got the brains of a Ravenclaw either. Although I have to say I am still a touch above those Hufflepuffs—"

"Stop twittering." Ginny interrupted, torn between amusement and annoyance.

She scowled at him but couldn't think of anything else to say. Draco finally mounted the final step and entered the room. He shivered and tugged his cloak around his shoulders. He peered at her for a moment and then moved to shrug out of his cloak. Before he could take it off, Ginny moved away from the window and further into the room. She shook her head and he frowned. He was staring at her intently through the gloom and she shifted slightly. He'd been giving her strange looks lately, piercing looks that skewered right through her.

"Shouldn't you be asleep? You have a Potions test tomorrow, don't you?" He said eventually, brushing his hair away from his face as a sweep of wind gusted through the archways.

She stared at him suspiciously but he was looking over her shoulder now, out of the window at the distant horizon. A sliver of pink was visible in the distance.

"How did you know that?"

He gave a shout of laughter and looked back at her. She could hardly see him in the shadowy room but his eyes were glittering brightly with amusement.

"Don't worry, I've no special interest. I saw Snape's lesson plan for tomorrow morning on his desk."

She sniffed haughtily, now thoroughly cold. Her bare feet had gone numb. She brushed past him, briefly aware of his body heat in her cold state.

"Watch your magic, Weasley."

She paused, one foot dangling above the stone steps. She turned to look at him.

"Was that some sort of perverted euphemism, Malfoy?"

He blinked and then a wicked grin curled his lips. She realised how plump his lower lip was.

"Unfortunately not. You're supposed to be in your fifth year. You shouldn't know ninety percent of the things you know. Try and remember how dumb you were at this age." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "That idiotic half-dense, half-afraid look you get on your face when you're thinking of an excuse not to kiss Thomas. Use that look a lot."

"How dare—" Ginny sputtered, her face flushing bright red in anger.

She nearly tripped back up the stairs in her fury and it only annoyed her further when he reached out and steadied her. She wrenched her elbow out of his firm grasp and nearly tumbled down the staircase. She gave him a last nasty look and flounced away with all the dignity she could muster.

* * *

Ginny was pretty sure she'd failed her Potions test. After she'd dragged herself through her lessons, she'd tried to crawl into bed and block everything out but there was a constant stream of traffic. The Common Room was packed so there was no relaxing in there either. She contemplated fleeing to the Hospital Wing but then she'd have to have an excuse to give Madam Pomfrey. She could always say she had cramps.

She trudged wearily around the castle, wondering where she could ever be alone. She looked as bad as she felt too. Her hair was lifeless, pulled back in a long ponytail and her face was deathly white. She had black marks like bruises under her shadowed eyes and she could barely bring herself to eat. At first she'd been worried about getting back but now she was sickened by the very thought of what was coming. It loomed on the horizon like a dark cloud of death. It was affecting her badly. She'd finally broken up with Dean, tired of dodging into empty classrooms and bathrooms and thinking of excuses to avoid him. Luckily most of her friends assumed her declining health and sullen mood were because of their break up.

She wandered aimlessly around the castle. Most people were in the Great Hall for dinner. A group of giggling Ravenclaw girls were hovering near the boy's bathroom on the third floor. Two Hufflepuff boys emerged from the bathroom, looking momentarily surprised to see the girls now staring resolutely in a different direction, and then very smug and impressed with themselves. Ginny found herself grinning for the first time in days. The Hufflepuff boys had paused in the hallway. One of them bent down to tie his lace and the other one leaned casually against the wall.

The gaggle of girls moved closer, still gossiping and surreptitiously eyeing the two boys. Ginny left them to it and was about to escape through a secret door that liked to move around the hallway when it opened before her. Draco and Blaise emerged, laughing uproariously. Ginny took a step back until she was hidden by the open door.

"A Hufflepuff girl, Blaise. Sometimes I think you have no standards whatsoever."

Blaise swore at Draco but there was no malice in his voice. Ginny had never heard any Slytherins talking alone, their snarky spiteful voices vanished and they were just like any other people. Blaise's footsteps echoed down the hall as they left. The conversation amongst the younger students down the hall ceased abruptly as they passed.

"Standing behind a door listening to personal conversations is considered the height of bad manners, you know."

Ginny wasn't the least bit surprised that he knew she was there. She pushed the door, half of her hoping that she hit him with it. It clicked closed and zoomed off along the wall.

"What's wrong with Hufflepuffs?" She demanded, deciding that he was just the right person to take her mood out on.

He lifted his eyebrows in that expressive way she was starting to hate.

"I was under the impression we were supposed to be acting like our teenage selves."

She couldn't think of anything to say to that. He was staring at her intently, taking in her pallor and her dull hair and eyes. Her robes were second-hand so they were loose anyway, but he had the feeling she'd lost some weight.

"You look terrible."

A flash of her usual boldness briefly illuminated her face. She drew herself up and gave him the haughtiest look she could muster.

"Why thank you, Malfoy." She said icily, giving his usual perfect appearance a contemptuous once over. "Just what a girl wants to hear."

He frowned. The sudden noise behind him told her the group of Ravenclaw girls were heading their way. He grabbed her wrist and hustled her into a stone alcove behind a nearby statue. It was freezing in the small space, surrounded by cold stone walls and Ginny shivered.

"That witch finally replied."

Ginny blinked at him blankly for a moment and then her brain caught up. Fiji. Draco pulled a roll of parchment out of his pocket and handed it to her. It didn't say very much, she asked for more information about their predicament mainly.

"Look Weasley, you need to get yourself together." She opened her mouth angrily but he continued to talk right over her. "We are in trouble. This is difficult for you, I won't say I understand because I can't."

Ginny was horrified to feel her lip beginning to tremble. Her hands were shaking in her pockets.

"Things are going to get very complicated very soon." His face was dark and she wondered what horrible things he was remembering. "We need to get back as quickly as we can. We can't mess around with what's coming. The repercussions of meddling with time…" He shook his head, looking momentarily lost for words. "I can't get a grasp on how painful this must be for you, but once we know how to get back—"

She knew why he'd paused. He meant they would get back before she saw her family and her friends murdered all over again. He hadn't lost anyone, he didn't know how it felt. They looked at each other in tense silence for a while. Until the hallways were beginning to fill with noise again and they knew dinner was over. Ginny made a gargantuan effort and gathered her fragile self together. She was strong. She would manage. She gave him a small nod and relief danced in his eyes.

"And Weasley." She looked up at him, his face was very close in the small alcove though she couldn't read his expression. "Take a shower, will you."

She glared at him. He stared back quite calmly. Her lips tweaked and she slipped out of the alcove.

They went their separate ways, blending into the crowds jostling and laughing in the corridors. Ginny headed straight for the bathroom, planning on standing under the hot shower until her fears had receded somewhat.

"Hey, Ginny!"

Ginny turned but there were so many people crowding into the corridor she couldn't see who was calling her. Eventually Colin Creevey staggered to her side with a beaming smile.

"Harry wanted me to remind you about practice tonight."

Colin had the same sort of proud cheery expression on his face that Pigwidgeon got when he successfully delivered a letter. He was bobbing on the spot waiting for her to reply.

"Practice?" Ginny repeated stupidly, still trying to clear the fuzz from her dozy brain.

"Quidditch practice." Colin burst out excitedly, not noticing the strange expression on Ginny's face.

"Oh. Right. Quidditch." Ginny nodded and thanked Colin and he melted back into the crowd, no doubt to tell Harry he'd passed on the message for him.

Ginny had forgotten all about Quidditch. Ginny searched her distant memories, trying to remember who was on the team in her fifth year. The twins had already left. Oliver Wood had graduated. Angelina and Alicia too. Ginny got more and more nervous as she scrubbed and rinsed her hair, letting the familiar routine act as a therapy to her muddled thoughts. Nowadays she only played Quidditch with her brothers and Harry in the backyard. She only played for fun, it had been years since she'd actually competed.

Still, if she flew terribly, she could always blame it on the long summer weeks without any real training she decided as she climbed out of the shower and wrapped herself in a big towel. She was actually quite cheerful at the prospect of playing Quidditch again and she hurried back to the Common Room to get changed.

* * *

"Hey, Gin."

She waved to Demelza and Jimmy, a few yards ahead of her on the path down to the Quidditch pitch. They were animatedly dissected the new plays Harry had created. Ginny felt better than she had in days at the prospect of a good training session ahead. It had gone quite dark but the pitch was well lit and the cold air was invigorating. Harry and Ron were far behind her, still inside the castle, and the rest of the team were scattered ahead on the long path through the frosty grass. She could hear voices though.

Before she could move away from the path, something moved from behind one of the windows and a bright yellow square of light illuminated the two figures arguing by the castle wall. Ginny would recognise that head of silver hair anywhere.

"Malfoy." She blurted automatically, stopping in the middle of the path and dropping her broomstick in surprise.

The two figures turned towards her. Blaise Zabini sneered. His face was red with anger and he appeared to be a little out of breath. Ginny recoiled slightly at the look on his face and he took a predatory step towards her.

"Get lost, Weasley." He snarled acidly, looking quite ready to strike her.

Ginny stood her ground. Draco was paler than ever and his eyes were darting from Blaise to Ginny.

"Hey I have every right to walk around here. Why don't you two take your lover's spat somewhere else." She sneered, summoning her bratty younger sister persona.

Blaise strode over to her before she could move and his long fingers bit into her arm. He gave her a shake.

"I said get lost."

Ginny tried to yank her arm back but he held on. Ginny was starting to feel uncomfortable. She didn't have much experience of Blaise, but his dark eyes were snapping with malice and she could feel his strength. She was sure she'd have bruises later. She glared at him icily.

"Take your hands off me, Zabini." She ordered coolly, sounding a lot more commanding than she felt.

"Come on, Blaise. We've got better things to do." Draco interjected. "Let the little Gryffindor alone before she starts blubbing."

Blaise was peering at her as if he'd never seen her before. Something wicked was flickering at the back of his eyes. Ginny swallowed. She was suddenly aware of herself in a way she'd never been at sixteen. As a teenager she'd worried about never developing like the witches in magazines, now she realised that she was quite developed enough for a sixteen year old boy to appreciate. She spent most of her time in clothes that were too big for her, hand-me-downs from her brothers. In her breeches and the slightly too-small sweater she'd thrown on for practice, she'd exposed to Blaise something he hadn't considered before. He drew her closer to him until there was barely a centimetre between them.

"What are you doing, Zabini?" Ginny demanded, fear beginning to churn in her stomach. "I said let go of me."

He shoved her backwards so hard she fell down. She didn't even have time to brace herself and she felt pain shooting through her back and legs. Blaise pulled out his wand and pointed it at her.

"Take a hike, Weasley. Before I test out some new hexes on you."

Ginny glared at him and got to her feet. Her own wand was by her bed inside. She gripped her broomstick tightly, quite willing to wallop him with it if his wand moved a millimetre. She did not like the idea of turning her back on him to walk away. She saw his hand grip his wand tighter and she lashed out with her broom, catching him smartly in the solar plexus. He grunted in surprise and doubled over. When he straightened up his face had gone from red to white.

"You little-"

He waved his wand and opened his mouth. Ginny took a few rapid steps to the side and he circled with her. She could feel Draco behind her now but Blaise's dark eyes never shifted from her face. Before Blaise could curse her, Ginny felt a flash of heat shoot past her, ruffling her hair and leaving a sharp pain on her neck. Blaise crumpled without a word, falling towards her. She gave a yelp of surprise and felt an arm around her waist, yanking her out of the way of the Slytherin's falling figure.

Blaise fell face first into the grass and didn't move. Ginny nudged him with her broom. Then again with her foot, none-too-gently. Just to be sure.

"What'd you do to him?"

"Stunned him." Draco shrugged. "He'll be fine, I'll make sure he doesn't remember a thing."

Ginny touched her gloved hand to her neck. It was sore. His spell had caught her because of their close proximity.

"Won't he figure out you cursed him after the argument you two were having?"

Draco ignored her question, examining the mark on her neck in the weak light.

"Just a scratch." She said a little hoarsely, terrified of moving when he was so close to her.

There was a loud clatter in the distance and laughing voices shattered the silence. Harry and Ron had finally emerged from the castle. Ginny was distinctly aware that Draco still had his hand on her chin. He let go and she took a step back. They looked at each other in silence and then Ginny hurried to cut off Harry and her brother. She should probably have been concerned that the two of them were thinking so alike nowadays, but she was still trembling from her encounter with Blaise.

"Hey, Ron!" Ron came to a halt and squinted into the darkness until he recognised Ginny. "I can't find my wand, did you see it on your way out here?"

"Ginny you shouldn't be wandering around in the dark on your own without a wand." He chastised immediately with an exasperated look at Harry.

"I had my wand, Ronald. I just seem to have misplaced it." Ginny lied coolly, wondering how long it would take Draco to move Blaise.

She kept them there for a good while longer than they really had to be, crawling in the grass searching for her wand, until Ron got to his feet and flatly refused to keep looking. Arguing took up another ten minutes. Eventually Harry cut in and suggested she check her pockets.

"Oh there it is." Ginny said breezily, her hand buried in the pocket of the robes slung over her arm.

She could still hear Ron cursing behind her all the way down to the changing rooms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Full Summary:** A spell gone wrong sends Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts and into their sixteen year old bodies. While struggling to trust each other enough to find a way back, they must deal with their own moral issues. Can they stop the war before the people they love die or are they fated to watch their history repeat itself.

**Pairings:** Draco/Ginny, slight Ron/Hermione

**A/N:** don't own don't sue

The lyrics at the beginning are from 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.' by Noah and the Whale

**Chapter Four**

Isa likes brandy and the way it hits her lips  
She's a rock 'n' roll survivor with pendulum hips  
She's got deep brown eyes  
That've seen it all  
Working at a nightclub that was called The Avenue  
The bar men used to call her "Little Lisa, Looney Tunes"  
She went down on almost anyone  
From the hard time living 'til the Chelsea days  
From when her hair was sweet blonde 'til the day it turned grey  
She said  
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.  
You've got more than money than sense, my friend  
You've got heart and you're goin' your own way  
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.  
What you don't have now will come back again  
You've got heart and you're goin' your own way  
Some people wear their history like a map on their face  
And Joey was an artist just living out of case  
But his best word was his letters home  
His standard works of fiction about imaginary success  
When chorus girls in neon were his closest things to friends  
But to a writer, the truth is no big deal

From the hard time living to the sleepless nights  
And the black and blue body from the weekend fights  
He'd say  
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.  
You've got more than money than sense, my friend  
You've got heart and you go in your own way  
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.  
What you don't have now will come back again  
You've got heart and you go in your own way  
On my last night on earth, I won't look to the sky  
Just breathe in the air and blink in the light  
On my last night on earth, I'll pay a high price  
To have no regrets and be done with my life  
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.  
You've got more than money than sense, my friend  
You've got heart and you go in your own way  
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.  
What you don't have now will come back again  
You've got heart and you go in your own way

The house was pitch black but surprisingly warm and the fireplace sprang to life as they traversed the long hallway and entered the drawing room. Ginny had a brief impression of expensive antique furniture, tall winged-back chairs and a truly gargantuan piano by the window, before she was crowded in by Malfoy behind her. She hovered uncomfortably and then sank down onto a little velvet stool by the side of a chair. Malfoy was doing something, wandering around touching various things with his wand. Ginny edged closer to the fire, her wet skirt and feet cooling her temperature until she shivered.

"Come on."

He swept out of the room through an elaborate archway without looking to see if she was following him. After a moment of stubborn refusal, she reluctantly got to her feet and hurried after him. Her bare feet left damp footprints on the wooden floor and she couldn't resist swivelling her head in all directions trying to take everything in. She'd never been in a house like this before. And this was just their summer house? The archway led into a smaller room, one side of which opened out onto a dark garden. She followed him around a few old-fashioned sofas and low tables and through another archway.

She couldn't stifle the excited little huff that escaped her at the sight of the room they'd entered. It was clearly a library. Wall to wall books reaching the ceiling high up above them. She craned her neck back. The ceiling was pure glass, impossible to tell what it was against the dark sky. The fireplace sprang to life and Malfoy crossed the room towards a relatively huge desk in the centre. It was bare of any papers or books but there was a large pile of blank parchment and a quill before the plush leather seat. Not really knowing what to do with herself, Ginny wandered over to the fireplace to warm her bare feet.

Malfoy took a seat at the desk and started scribbling immediately, the scratching of the quill loud in the quiet room. She was itching to get her hands on the books above her head but she was damned if she was going to help herself to anything in Malfoy's house.

"Who are you writing to?" She finally asked, the silence hurting her ears.

"My father."

He blinked in surprise when her hand crashed down on the desk in front of him, snatching the half-written letter out of his grasp.

"Are you stupid?" She seethed angrily. "You don't know anything about when we are, you idiot. You don't know who your father's grovelling after or even if he's still alive."

His silver eyes flashed in the firelight and for a moment she tensed, fully expecting him to lash out and strike her. She could almost see the struggle going on behind his eyes. Eventually he managed to clamp down on whatever emotion he'd been fighting with.

"Alright then, Weasley. What's your bright idea?" His upper lip lifted into a contemptuous sneer. "Granger I suppose."

Annoyed that he'd read the thought so clearly written across her pale freckled face, she scowled at him heartily. They stood there glaring at each other. It did not escape his sixteen-year-old notice that her chest was heaving quite impressively in that little black top. Her hair had fallen out of its pins and was straggling over her bare shoulders, damp from the light rain.

"What?" She said shortly when she realised his glare had deepened. "Stop looking at me like that, Malfoy."

"So if we can't go to my father…" He gave her a very shrewd look that thoroughly startled her. "And we're not going to Granger… now what?"

She glowered at him, her mouth opening and then closing. She had no idea. She'd never had a problem that going to her mother or Hermione or even Harry hadn't fixed before. Hermione was clearly about to pop and would probably think she'd lost her mind. As would her mother. And she did not think this was in Harry's range of expertise. Her mind ran through the options and with a sickening jolt she realised she didn't even know if her mother was alive. She ran the scene at the bar back through her head but it was all a blur.

Malfoy saw the colour drain from her cheeks so suddenly that he actually felt a flush of concern and he blinked at the sudden feeling.

"I don't—" She broke off and he could see her hands trembling as she worried the thin silver chain around her throat. "I don't even know if my family is alive."

He reeled back as if she'd struck him and she realised that the thought hadn't occurred to him that his parents might be dead. It was almost impossible for Malfoy to get any paler than he already was but a faint flush crawled along his cheekbones and his pupils dilated.

"We should sleep." He finally said, slightly hoarsely.

Still stunned, Ginny followed him out of the room and up a winding staircase. She didn't take note of how many doors they passed before he stopped. He shoved open a door that looked to Ginny exactly the same as all the others. He turned away without looking at her, disappearing into a room further down the hallway. The turning of the lock was very loud in the silence. Ginny hesitated on the threshold and then pushed the door fully open. To her surprise, she'd always imagined the Malfoy's taste to be very dark and gloomy with lots of green, the room was very prettily decorated.

There was a fire burning, as there seemed to be in every room they occupied. A huge four-poster dressed in pale gold and cream bedding and piles of frothy pillows, rather dainty cream curtains that were almost see-through at every post, took up most of the room. A big chest embroidered with a forest scene lay at the end of the bed. A big full-length mirror reflected her pale slender figure back at her. She laid her wand on the big chest of drawers and took out the pins from her hair.

She had no idea how late it was. She cautiously opened a door by the bed, hoping it led to a bathroom of some sort. It did. She ran the water into a huge claw-foot tub, enjoying the steam that filled the room. She found little pots on a shelf filled with bath salts and she poured a few in. It occurred to her, as she slipped out of her damp clothes and climbed into the tub, that Malfoy had probably heard the water running. She knew it would annoy him to know what she was doing in his house without his permission and she felt a brief flicker of smug satisfaction. It also occurred to her, as she slipped down into the warm soapy water, that he now knew she was naked.

It gave her a strange feeling, to know that someone was aware she was naked only a few rooms away. At Hogwarts there'd been dozens of girls fighting for the showers and tubs and it had been quite obvious that naked girls were a few feet from you while you showered but this was something else entirely. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant notion and she frowned guiltily at the thought. What about Dean? She'd never had those kinds of thoughts about him and he was her boyfriend! Well not really, not in any detail. Of course, when she'd been sequestered with Dean in a dark corner and his fumbling hands had been trembling on her waist and struggling to get under her uniform, she'd had a few teenage rumblings below her belly but she'd never really considered doing anything about it.

The thought of Malfoy contemplating her being naked took all the pleasure out of her soak and she hurriedly scrubbed her hair and climbed out of the tub. She towelled off the water and slipped on a silky robe hanging from the back of the door. She went over to a cream wardrobe taller than she was, her feet padding on the thick carpet. This was clearly just a guest room because the wardrobe was empty except for a nightdress, a cloak and an old-fashioned gown.

She slid off the robe and pulled the nightgown on. She'd never worn anything like it in her life. It was a little bit sexier than she'd expected and she didn't even want to think about why such a thing was hanging in the wardrobe. Soft ivory silk, it fell to the floor in a sweep, puddling over her toes. She felt quite naked with her shoulders and a good portion of her upper back and chest bared and she hurriedly climbed onto the bed. She paused when she heard something crackling. Rolling over she discovered a clean sheet of parchment and a quill. Had they been there before she'd taken her bath? Or had Malfoy left them there for her?

In the end she decided they must have already been there because the idea of Malfoy being only a door's width away from her naked body made her tingle in unexpected places. She scribbled a quick note to her parents, finding it very hard to make small talk with all the possibilities crashing through her head. She rolled up the parchment and stared at it. Now what? There must be an owlery around here somewhere. She climbed back down from the big bed, slipped the cloak from the wardrobe around her shoulders and left the room.

She hesitated in the hallway, looking from one end to the other. It all looked exactly the same. Logically the owlery would be the highest point of the house. She figured if she wandered for long enough she'd have to find a staircase.

"Stupid house. Endless corridors. Who needs this many rooms?" Ginny cursed as she stubbed her bare toes on a small coffee table in yet another reception room.

She'd been wandering around for what seemed like hours and, unless the house was magically expanded somehow, she could only have been going in circles. She couldn't even find her way back to her room now. Stumbling over a small table as she made her way back into the hallway, she tripped on the voluminous cloak and flew into a half open door. The door bounced off her shoulder, flew open and she fell face first into a dark room.

"Nice entrance, Weasley. Very graceful."

She felt a hand grab the back of the cloak and yank her abruptly back onto her feet. She shrugged Malfoy's hand away, brushing her hair off her face irritably.

"Well if you didn't live in this bloody maze! Nobody needs a house this big, it's ridiculous-" She broke off at the sight of a quite naked Malfoy lounging against the doorframe she'd just fallen through.

Well almost naked, on closer inspection he did have a pair of grey silk shorts on which were dangling perilously low on his hips. Huh, he had a little trail of soft-looking blond hair under his belly button. The contours of his chest looked surprisingly solid. There was something dark inked over his heart. She had never actually seen a naked man before, she'd seen Dean with his top off after Quidditch practice a few times and you didn't share a house with six brothers and not catch a glimpse of too much flesh every once in a while but she tried her best to forget those incidents.

"I am quite impressive, aren't I?" He said smugly, cupping his hand so he could examine his fingernails in the light from his wand.

"You look like one of those plastic dolls they make for twelve year old witches." Ginny snapped rudely and quite unthruthfully. "Except for the receding hairline."

Malfoy scowled, his hand fluttering automatically to his hair which was still thick and lustrous.

"What are you doing creeping around?" He demanded.

"I was looking for an owl." She said sulkily.

"Well why didn't you ring for one." He said impatiently as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Ginny must have been staring at him blankly because he rolled his eyes. "You open the shutters of your window and ring the chimes. The owls are trained to respond." He gave her a withering look. "Aren't your owls trained from hatchlings?"

His lip curled mockingly and she glared at him, flushing hotly at the implied insult.

"No Malfoy." She snapped icily.

She wanted very much to sweep past him and make a haughty exit but she still had no idea where she was.

"What are you doing creeping around in the middle of the night, anyway?"

"I was woken up by a herd of wild hippogriffs crashing around demolishing my house." He nudged the broken table in the hallway pointedly with his foot. "Come on, Weasley."

Ginny did not like being ordered around but he had already walked away and she could end up staying here all night if she didn't follow. She was only two floors up from her room after all. On the way down the second flight of stairs, she tripped on the cloak once again and stumbled straight into Malfoy's broad back. She let out a long stream of expletives that left Malfoy staring at her in amazement, too stunned to be annoyed, and ripped off the cloak.

"Hey that cost more than your entire house!" He barked irritably as she tossed it onto the floor and stamped on it a few times for good measure.

"Don't be ridiculous. It would hardly be left in an old wardrobe if it was worth something, would it?"

Malfoy opened his mouth to retort but his tongue seemed to have gone numb. Now he might have had experience fumbling under the blankets of his four poster with Pansy and a couple of other Slytherins, but he had never seen anything that looked like Ginny Weasley right at that moment. The lacy nightdress had slipped down one freckled shoulder, her still slightly damp hair was rippling over the other, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling and her chest was heaving rather impressively.

"Stop gawping at me." She snapped tightly, propping her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

This did nothing except stretch the silken material tighter across her flat stomach and hips and greatly increase the dark hollow of skin the lace exposed.

"I think I can find my room from here, Malfoy." She said quietly. "Thank you."

He continued to stare at her with an inscrutable expression on his face and then he gave her a jerky nod and left. Once he was out of sight, Ginny leaned back against the wood panelled wall, a rather shaky hand at her throat. Did these sorts of sensations come with the older body? She had no idea what just happened between the two of them but she did not like it one bit. Malfoy was the enemy. Always had been and always would be. That was where they stood and that was how exactly how she liked it. Still, it took her a good few moments of steadying her breathing before she had the strength in her knees to make her way to her room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Full Summary:** A spell gone wrong sends Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts and into their sixteen year old bodies. While struggling to trust each other enough to find a way back, they must deal with their own moral issues. Can they stop the war before the people they love die or are they fated to watch their history repeat itself.

**Pairings:** Draco/Ginny, slight Ron/Hermione

**A/N:** don't own don't sue

The lyrics at the beginning are from 'Shake It Out' by Florence and the Machine

**Chapter Five**

Regrets collect like old friends  
Here to relive your darkest moments  
I can see no way, I can see no way  
And all of the ghouls come out to play  
And every demon wants his pound of flesh  
But I like to keep some things to myself  
I like to keep my issues strong  
It's always darkest before the dawn  
And I have been a fool and I have been blind  
I can never leave the past behind  
I can see no way, I can see no way  
I'm always dragging that horse around  
All of these questions, such a mournful sound  
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground  
So I like to keep my issues strong  
But it's always darkest before the dawn  
Shake it up, shake it out, shake it up, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
Shake it up, shake it out, shake it up, shake it out, ooh woaaaah  
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
So shake him off, oh woah  
I am done with my graceless heart  
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart  
'Cause I like to keep my issues strong  
It's always darkest before the dawn  
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
So shake him off, oh woah  
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
And given half the chance would I take any of it back  
It's a fine romance but it's left me so undone  
It's always darkest before the dawn  
Oh woah, oh woah...  
And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't  
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road  
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope  
It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat  
'Cause looking for heaven, for the devil in me  
Looking for heaven, for the devil in me  
Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me

There were many things Draco Malfoy missed about Hogwarts. The complete lack of privacy was not one of them. He managed to get Blaise into the Common Room without anyone noticing only by using several charms he shouldn't have known as his sixteen year old self. He propped Blaise up in a chair by the fire and left him there to sleep off the spell. He looked down at his old friend. He looked peaceful while he was asleep, the firelight warming his face.

He sat in the Common Room for a while, trying to focus on his homework, a book, a letter from his mother then a game of Wizard Poker some of the Seventh years were playing but it was no good. He'd always felt superior while he was originally at Hogwarts, now he just felt irritatingly out of step with the rest of the world. In the end he decided to post a reply back to his mother. Most people scooted out of his way as he made the long journey to the Owlery. This used to please him but now he was merely grateful for the chance to think without interruption.

He found himself fonder of the castle now. Before he'd tried his hardest to be as unpleasant and bullying as possible. Some of the Slytherins seemed to have sensed the change in him too. He was sitting in the Great Hall laughing with the Quidditch team that morning and he'd found Blaise and Pansy eyeing him curiously. The girls that had chased his sixteen year old self were more insistent than ever and he was having great difficulty putting them off without giving himself away.

"Draco!"

He half turned. He knew that trilling voice. Pansy sauntered out of the girls' bathroom and put one hand on his chest.

"Pansy." He said equably.

"Where are you going?" She purred, her fingertips pressing slightly against his breastbone.

"Owlery." He replied.

She advanced on him, practically shoving him against the wall. The hallway was quite deserted. She had him flat against a wall and her lips at his ear before he could react. It was safe to say that he'd experienced far more talented seductions but he was, after all, male. He put one hand on her waist and pushed her gently but firmly away. She blinked at him in amazement.

"I'm not in the mood." He said coolly, trying his best to summon up his old nasty tones.

Pansy threw back her dark head and laughed.

"Draco Malfoy… not in the mood?" She finally said once she'd finished giggling.

He didn't have to pretend to look offended. He glared at her.

"I beg your pardon?"

She continued to regard him with a highly amused expression on her pug face. Her hand was still on his chest.

"Draco." She simpered. "You know what I can do for you—"

"Maybe I'm bored of what you do." Draco pointed out, none-too-kindly.

Pansy's face fell and her dark eyes widened. Then her cool-headed Slytherin responses kicked in and she drew away from him, tilting her chin up to glower at him defiantly.

"Fine. Handle yourself then." She said with her best sneer, sweeping away from him.

His fears were not alleviated in the slightest. Pansy had never had any self-control. She'd be back before long. He sighed, straightened his sweater and continued on his way.

* * *

His reply to his mother was short and slightly brusque. He knew their letters would probably be read by half a dozen Death Eaters before they ever reached the intended recipients. Once he'd sent it off he stared out of the window for a while. It was almost fully dark. He couldn't see the mountains in the distance anymore. He couldn't even see the lake. The Quidditch pitch glowed in the distance. The Gryffindors must still be practising. He squinted but he couldn't discern any flying figures. He felt unease grip his stomach.

He used to ignore his instincts, follow his orders without question. He'd learnt to trust himself. He stalked straight out of the Owlery and headed towards Gryffindor Tower. He was halfway there when he almost tripped over Hermione Granger racing in the opposite direction.

"Watch where you're going." He snapped acidly.

She hesitated and peered up at him. He paused when he saw the fear and panic in her eyes. It had nothing to do with him, in fact she was so distracted she barely noticed who she'd almost run over. Before either of them could say anything Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan rounded a corner at a fair clip.

"Hermione!" They skidded to a halt when they saw the two of them standing in the middle of the corridor.

Dean ignored Draco completely and walked straight up to Hermione.

"Is Ginny alright? Demelza said she fell off her broom-"

Draco made a noise in his throat and the three of them looked at him. He wasn't sure how this time-travel business worked but he was pretty sure that if she died now something would go very wrong in the future.

"She ducked to avoid a Bludger, she crashed into Jimmy and they both…" Hermione broke off when her lip started to tremble.

Draco left the three Gryffindors huddled together. His first instinct was to go to the Hospital Wing and make sure she was still alive. He quashed the thought. Draco Malfoy sweeping in to check on a Weasley's chances of survival would not go unnoticed. So he waited.

* * *

The worst thing about being in the Hospital Wing, Ginny mused as she dutifully took her potion under Madam Pomfrey's beady eye, was the complete lack of entertainment. The fall had cracked her ribs, which Madam Pomfrey had healed in under thirty seconds. She was insisting, however, on keeping her here until she was sure that her lungs were only bruised and not actually damaged by the breaking bones. Ginny felt like she'd been hit in the chest by the Knight Bus. Jimmy had only dislocated his shoulder which had been fixed and bandaged, just in case. He had apologised profusely, almost in tears.

She'd had a steady stream of visitors since her accident. Hermione had brought her homework, of course. Ron had leant her his self-playing chess board but she couldn't concentrate and the pieces kept yelling at her. She'd eaten half of the sweets and chocolates she'd been sent and she now felt sick. Her eyes landed on the spine of the book Quinn had brought her. Quinn devoured romance books. Not romantic kind of romance but the kind _The Daily Prophet_ reviewed as "bodice-ripping, wand-wilting tales of passion so saucy Merlin himself would have spread it on his toast instead of marmalade!". Ginny usually avoided those kinds of trashy novels but she'd never actually been this bored before.

She became deeply engrossed in the heroine, Elspeth's, flight from the wicked vampire love interest, Percival.

"_Begone wicked creature!" Elspeth cried, her ringing tones echoing around the castle._

_She was not afraid of the vampire, despite being backed against the chapel wall._

"_My darling." He crooned, his teeth flashing white in the moonlight. _

_His dark eyes were like whirlpools as he advanced on her prostrate frame, arms flung out against the stone wall behind her. Her expansive bosom was heaving, her flesh milky against her scarlet dress. Her chin was tilted in defiance but that only exposed her lovely slender throat. _

_Percival's smile grew wider…_

A small amused cough startled her and she squeaked, the book dropping from her lap and bouncing off the edge of the bed. Draco's hand snatched out and caught it before it could hit the floor. Ginny cast a nervous look around but the Hospital Wing was still and silent and dark. The light wasn't even on in Madam Pomfrey's office anymore. She must have been reading for a long time.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" Ginny hissed angrily, her heart pounding painfully against her tender ribs.

"I was concerned." Draco replied with an entirely unconvincing affronted look on his face.

"Don't be ridiculous." She snapped.

He didn't reply, merely grinned at her in a disconcerting manner. She wasn't used to him smiling instead of smirking yet, not a real smile full of humour anyway. It did something strange to his face, the collection of narrow features transformed. When he smiled like that it was almost impossible to imagine anything other than what he looked like without his clothes on. Ginny's cheeks blazed with heat and she fervently hoped he couldn't read her thoughts.

"'_Elspeth was in a world of sensations and pleasurable torments. Any fear she'd had vanished at the touch of his well-versed hands. She'd planned to fight but if the length of his fangs was anything to go by_'-"

"Malfoy." Ginny said warningly and he broke off with an innocent smirk.

He held the book out to her and she snatched it from him and shoved it under her pillow. He was eyeing her with a coolly amused look on his face, slouching gracefully back in the hard wooden seat.

"Just out of curiosity, what do you think would happen to our future selves if one of us throws themselves off their broom and splatters all over the pitch?"

"I did not-" Ginny retorted loudly, biting off her words when Malfoy tapped a shushing finger to his lips with a nod towards Madam Pomfrey's dark office.

"Relax, Weasley. Anyone would think you're not confident about your abilities on a broom."

Ginny's lips had gone white with the effort of keeping her mouth shut but her eyes were shooting sparks, which only made his grin even wider.

"Did you want something, Malfoy?" She finally asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes, I've got a theory." He crossed his arms behind his head, propping one foot over the other next to her thigh on the bed. "Maybe you've lost it, Weasley. Maybe this is all in your head. This is all just a fantasy."

She rolled her eyes.

"Why would you be in my delusion? I haven't suffered any brain damage."

She was trying not to look at the concave hollow of his stomach where his black sweater had ridden up. Apparently along with her sixteen year old mood swings she'd also caught a second bout of teenage hormones.

"There are several reasons." He replied equably, his hair shining in the moonlight filtering through the windows. "My good looks, my charm, my wit, my overall superiority. Not to mention my rather impressively sized fortune. Don't pretend this is my first appearance in your fantasies, Weasley."

"No." She agreed. "But those kinds of fantasies usually end bloodily."

"Fighting over my body with the rest of the female population?" He said solemnly, heaving a heavy sigh. "It's a common theme, so I hear."

"As if, Malfoy." She snorted, trying her damnedest not to smile.

"It's fine to admit your feelings for me, let it all out. I'm told it can be very therapeutic for the sufferer."

"'Suffer' being the operative word." She sniffed haughtily.

"Don't hold back, Weasley. You'll feel better when you've admitted it."

"I'm warning you, Malfoy-"

"You're warning me? How cute."

"Don't make me hex you."

"Last time I checked _you _were the one in the Hospital Wing, not me."

"I will beat you down." She threatened.

"Yes I'm sure you could find a way to mash me into a messy, pulpy, but still entirely too handsome mess despite having recently suffered a serious injury." His teeth gleamed white in the dark room as he grinned. "But I have to warn you, Weasley. I fight dirty."

Ginny, who had been distracted somewhat by the way his stretched up arms pulled his sweater taut against his Quidditch honed chest, flushed bright red and scowled at him.

"Go away, Malfoy."

He gave a martyred sigh and slid gracefully onto his feet.

"Fine. I shall withdraw my comfort until such time when it will be better appreciated." He paused as if he had just remembered something, cocking his head and eyeing her slender form outlined by the thin scratchy sheet. "Of course if you'd feel safer with some company…"

Horrified by the way her body tingled from head to toe at the very idea, Ginny grabbed the first thing to come to hand, which happened to be Ron's chess board, and lobbed it at him. He held up his hand and the board soared away as if it had struck something in midair. The pieces squealed in outrage as they bounced onto the floor and vanished under the chair, the bed and the bedside table.

"Oh come on, Weasley. You're breaking my heart." He stuck out his bottom lip and fluttered his eyelashes. "Not to mention seriously bruising my ego."

"Good night, Malfoy." She said threateningly and he gave an exaggerated sigh, bowing with much twirling of his hands.

He straightened up, winked at her and left. Ginny sank back against the pillows, annoyed that she couldn't seem to wipe the huge grin off her face or stop her heart from fluttering madly in her chest. This was so embarrassing! A woman of her age developing a crush. On Draco Malfoy of all people. This was just too confusing. But then again the Malfoy she was starting to know was not the cruel bitter brat she had known and hated for seven years of her life. Either this was a whole new Malfoy, or he had kept everything decent about himself securely hidden away during his entire time at Hogwarts.

She must have fallen asleep still pondering Malfoy's bizarre likeability because the next thing she knew Madam Pomfrey was fussing around her bed with a tray of potions for her to take. Ginny obediently gulped the stuff down, dragging on her clothes and escaping before Madam Pomfrey could find a reason to keep her there. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and the castle was almost deserted as she made her way slowly back to Gryffindor Tower. Her lungs still felt delicate as she showered gingerly, feeling like her entire body was one giant bruise.

She decided against jeans which would only soak up the snow and pulled on a pair of thick woolly grey tights, an over-sized white sweater and her brown fur-lined winter boots. Her hair was too long to dry quickly so she did her best then tucked the long silky locks up under an old electric blue bobble hat of Bill's which drooped over her ears and forehead. She was struggling to yank on her hand-knitted mittens and cross the Entrance Hall at the same time when she collided with someone tall and broad.

She staggered backwards, one hand at her chest as pain flared through her lungs. Blaise and Pansy had apparently been deep in discussion about something and they turned matching dark livid gazes on her as she steadied herself. Ginny felt a flicker of unease stir in her stomach and she thrust her hand into the pocket of her cloak and gripped her wand tightly. Before either of them could say anything Professor Flitwick emerged through the front doors and enlisted Blaise to help him carry a pile of books that was almost taller than he was. Ginny took the opportunity to make her escape.

The frosty ground crunched satisfyingly under her boots as she made her way towards Hogsmeade. She couldn't have been that far behind breakfast because there were still groups of students and couples strolling leisurely towards the village. She caught up with Harry, Ron and Hermione and enjoyed a lively chat with Hermione about who was dating whom. Once they reached the village Ginny excused herself and went off in search of some breakfast. She finally found a small café near the station and was just polishing off some hot croissants and eggs when the door opened with a tinkle. Along with a draft and a swirl of fresh snowflakes, Draco Malfoy entered the café looking harried.

Ginny glanced around but there were no other students this far from the village and she gestured at him. The irritated look melted from his face and he sauntered over to sit opposite her.

"What's up with you? Those groupies getting you down?"

He glared at her and she grinned.

"If you must know I was trying to evade Crabbe and Goyle." He informed her grouchily.

"Really? They never seemed that difficult to confuse to me." She pointed out.

"Well as it turns out they're rather like stray cats that follow you home."

Ginny frowned.

"Grateful for the attention?" She suggested.

"Impossible to get rid of." He corrected.

Ginny rolled her eyes. As she was paying the bill she glanced out of the window.

"They're more resourceful than you thought." She told him, pointing out of the window where Crabbe and Goyle were ambling along the cobbled street towards the café.

Draco grunted in annoyance, grabbed Ginny's arm and yanked her through the café, past the startled chef and out of the back door.

"Hey!" Ginny protested as the snow hit her full in the face. "I didn't get my cloak!"

He ignored her, dragging her by the hand around the back of the station.

"Where are we going?" She panted, struggling to keep up as they scrambled through snow drifts where the snow had been piled off the tracks.

"Somewhere private."

He caught her startled glance and grinned. He eventually came to a halt outside a rather rickety wooden building perched precariously on a hill. Draco tapped the door with his wand and it creaked open. Ginny eyed the building doubtfully.

"Come on, Weasley-"

"Not one crack about my house." She warned him and he arranged his face into a hurt expression.

"Would I?"

She rolled her eyes. Following Malfoy into an abandoned building when no one knew where she was? Huh. He didn't look threatening though. He was standing there waiting for her to follow him, snow caught in his silver hair and a pink flush across his cheeks. There was nothing but impatience and enthusiasm burning in his silver-grey eyes. She sighed.

"Fine. But only because it's freezing out here."

She followed him inside, finding herself in a small round room with nothing but a ladder inside it. She started up the ladder gingerly, fully expecting it to collapse to pieces beneath her. She managed to make it to the top without incident though, hauling herself up onto a big round platform. Now she knew why it had felt as if they were climbing forever. They were very high up.

"It's an old watch tower for the trains." Draco explained as he emerged behind her.

She could see miles in every direction. Hogwarts in the distance, the train tracks disappearing into the snow and Hogsmeade laid out below them like a tiny model town.

"Whoa." Ginny exclaimed, gaping at the view.

Draco spread his cloak out right on the edge of the platform where it opened out into nothing. He patted a corner besides him and Ginny lowered herself down. The tower must have been charmed to repel the weather and stay warm because there were no walls but it was perfectly comfortable despite the snowy weather swirling around them. Ginny was not in the least afraid of heights and she swung her legs over the edge of the platform.

"It's beautiful."

Draco shrugged, leaning back on the heels of his hands.

"I used to come up here all the time. To think. Plan-" He broke off abruptly and Ginny flicked a glance at him.

They had never actually talked about what was coming. All the things that they would be required to do if they didn't want to distort the timeline.

"Do you ever think about the things you'd do over?" He asked in an unusually subdued voice. "Now that you've got the chance?"

"You mean like not losing my virginity to Seamus Finnigan at Harry's nineteenth birthday party? Sometimes."

Draco stared at her.

"Finnigan?" He finally managed to get out, his voice dripping with derision.

"Seamus is a very good man." Ginny said coldly. "Who did you lose your virginity to?"

Draco suddenly became very interested in the bare wooden ceiling of the platform.

"I hope we get out of this before I have to go through that again." Ginny muttered. "Losing it once was bad enough."

"I would have pegged Finnigan as a very gentle, considerate lover." Draco said thoughtfully and she elbowed him sharply.

"I'm sure he is but one's first time is always a rather unpleasant experience. Generally the same sensation as a burning hot poker trying to probe your innards." Ginny retorted primly, rather wondering how they'd managed to get onto this topic of conversation. "I don't think I'd let Selina get me drunk enough to think matching tattoos were an excellent idea either."

Draco's intense inspection of the ceiling ended abruptly and he squinted curiously at her, eyeing her from head to toe thoughtfully.

"When exactly did this happen?"

Ginny shrugged.

"Next summer when I go to stay at Selina's summer home in France. I get a—Hey!" She burst out embarrassedly, flushing bright red when she found him leering at her.

He shrugged, completely unrepentant. The silence between them had become way too comfortable and distinctly charged with something neither of them wanted to look at too closely.

"I have to go." Ginny finally said. "I have to get my hair cut."

Draco turned towards her, his penetrating grey eyes piercing right through her. She saw his hand lift out of the corner of her eye but she seemed to have lost all ability to control her body. She felt his hand, surprisingly warm given the weather, brush against the wing of her ear making it tingle, a rush of cooler air as he pulled away the hat. Her hair was warm from her body heat trapped beneath the hat and still scented from her vanilla cinnamon shampoo as it tumbled down her back. She still couldn't move. His hand was in her hair, drawing silken curls through his slender fingers and her neck was aflame in anticipation of his touch. She had forgotten how raw everything was when you were coursing with hormones, every millimetre of freckled skin attuned and humming. Colour had climbed into his cheeks and his lips had curved into something like a frown. She was almost sure she could see the pulse fluttering in his pale throat.

She was struck by the sudden inescapable urge to touch the hair sliding over his temple, to see if it was really as feathery soft as it looked. As if it was completely detached from her control, her hand lifted. She had forgotten her mittens in her cloak pocket and she watched her pale freckled hand as if it was somebody else's. He blinked at the contact when her fingertips stroked his temple, curling a silvery white strand between her fingers. It was softer than anything she'd ever felt. She could feel the heat from his body seeping through her fingers, his eyes burning into hers. His hand had curled into a fist, tangled in her hair and she tilted her face towards him enquiringly. It was so hard to connect the man she was getting to know with the young face she had thought she knew, and hated, so well. The sharp planes of his face she remembered now had the slightly soft edges of youth, his eyes were bigger than she remembered and his lashes much longer. The mouth that she had only ever seen contorted into a cruel smirk, a malicious snarl or a fearful twist was inches away, plump lower lip pursed thoughtfully. For a moment Ginny forgot that she was a grown woman and sitting besides her was a grown man and that their relationship was brain-achingly complicated. She felt like a teenage girl sitting besides a teenage boy, realising that she liked the way he made her laugh, the way he looked at her and the way he made her stomach flutter.

And for a second, just one brief second, she thought about letting it all go and giving in to her roiling stomach and breathless lips. He was so close, his lips were so very inviting and his eyelids had almost drifted entirely closed. Then reality reasserted itself and she drew back. Cold air rushed in between them, snapping her out of her daze. Her hand slid back from his temple and she felt him release her hair. The whole episode couldn't have lasted more than a minute or two but the air seemed so much colder swirling in between them.

Ginny found she couldn't seem to catch her breath as she scrambled to her feet. He wasn't looking at her any more; he was staring back out at the sprawling white vista, the breeze lifting his silver hair.

* * *

**teddyandlilyforever** – thanks here's your update

**Angelique Collins** – errr thanks I think

**Nacilme** – thanks a lot hope you enjoy the update

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